


Science Never Lies

by TrekTraveler



Series: The Samantha MacKade Chronicles [2]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekTraveler/pseuds/TrekTraveler
Summary: Dr. Julian Bashir was not impressed when he witnessed Sam MacKade sparring with Worf.  Only a lunatic would take on a Klingon in the ring!*Takes place before "The Dark Before the Dawn"
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Samantha MacKade Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616893
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Science Never Lies

Sam followed Julian to the Infirmary. Although she passed it every day, this was the first time she had actually set foot in Dr. Bashir’s world. It was clean and well lit, smelled faintly of disinfectant as all Medbays did, but it also had a warmth to it she hadn’t expected. There was a homey quality that was really quite pleasant and not at all like the rest of the station. 

“Have a seat,” Julian said curtly as he strode to the opposite end of the examination room.

Sam hopped up on one of the bio-beds, her feet dangling made her feel like a bit of a child.

He returned with a tray that displayed a variety of medical instruments including a dermal regenerator and tricorder. Taking a few baseline readings, he said nothing.

Sam sighed impatiently, “Well, how about it? Will I live?”

Julian didn’t look up from his tricorder, “No broken bones or fractures. No internal bleeding, A minor laceration on your neck and a couple of muscle strains,” he snapped the device shut, “Looks like you’re going to make it.”

“You sound almost disappointed,” she coolly observed. I could have told him that, if the stubborn ass had bothered to listen.

Julian finally met her gaze and she was surprised by the twinge of temper she saw there, “Stunned is more like it. What you call sparring was more like a cage match.”

Sam scoffed, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“I can not believe Worf agreed to it.” Julian muttered, running a Protoplaser over her left shoulder blade. “Doesn’t he know what would happen if he lost control? Don’t you?”

Sam gave a shrug, “Yeah, I’d be dead.”

“Do you have that cavalier attitude towards everything or only situations where your life is at risk?”

“You must not have a very high opinion of your fellow officer if you think he would cave to his baser instincts so easily,” Sam countered. 

“Instincts have nothing to do with it,” he snapped, trading out one instrument for another, “Its basic biology. Humans are no match for Klingons in hand to hand combat.”

She couldn’t believe this was the same flirty doctor with the puppy dog eyes she met a few days ago. This Julian Bashir was almost angry in the way he was dressing her down and Sam could feel her own temper rising to meet his, “Do you give Dax this much flack when she spars with Worf?”

“Jadzia is a Trill, not a Human,” Julian pointed out with authority, as he moved on to her elbow, “And she’s his wife. Besides, she never would never take such a stupid risk just so she could show off.”

“Full points for efficiency doctor,” Sam spat, “You managed to insult my intelligence and my integrity in one fell swoop!” A sharp pain shot through her elbow when he pulled it to get a better angle, “Ouch!”

Julian immediately stilled his movements. Seeing her get tossed around the ring by a Klingon twice her size had rattled him a bit more than he realized. He had allowed his anger to run away with him and lost his perspective. It cost him that a bit of finesse that was required in doctoring. Kicking himself for his own lack of control he looked up into her fiery gaze, “Sorry. I’m sorry.” He drew a calming breath and asked for her permission to continue, “Please?”

She considered telling Dr. Julian Bashir exactly what he could do with his dermal regenerator and his unwanted opinions, but she opted for peace instead and gave him a curt nod.

He continued the rest of his treatments in silence, taking extraordinary care in not causing any addition pain. The quiet was palatable and Sam shifted uncomfortably, “Worf has been my sparring partner and my teacher for the better part of three years. He would never do anything to intentionally hurt me.”

“I know that,” Julian allowed, “Why don’t you just use one of the Holosuite programs? That’s what the safeties are for.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Julian only shook his head in disapproval, causing Sam to sigh, “Look, when I first met Worf, I begged him to teach me Mok’bara. And he refused, for all the reasons you just listed.”

Julian moved on to the razor thin line of blood where the bat’leth had nicked her neck, “What caused him to change his mind.”

“He lost a bet.” Julian chuckled, and Sam gave him a small smile, “At first, he would show me little more than Klingon yoga, but eventually we built up a level of trust and learned each other’s boundaries.” 

“You did manage to pull off a few impressive maneuvers,” he admitted.

Sam cast him a sidelong glance, “Is that a compliment?”

“An observation.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but just living in deep space is a risk. There are all kinds of dangers out here and knowing how to defend myself is not only practical but essential.”

“A phaser is practical self-defense,” Julian countered, “Yet you don’t seem to carry one.”

“A phaser,” Sam repeated in distaste, “Starfleet’s solution for everything. The greatest weapon I carry is the gray matter between my ears. Have you considered that my sessions with Worf aren’t just practice for me?”

Julian returned the dermal regenerator to its place on the tray, “What do you mean?”

“You were right when you brought up losing control. Its not easy for Worf to keep himself in check with me going at him with everything I’ve got. But being in control is crucial for him if he’s going to serve in Starfleet, even more so since he traded his gold undershirt for a red one,” Sam pointed out, conviction ringing in her voice, “I’m not the only student in the ring.”

Julian really looked at her then, studying the delicate features. A few strands of dark hair had escaped her braid to curl around her face, high cheekbones still flushed with pink, wide-set mouth that wasn’t talking for once. And those eyes… green and clear as sea water, full of intelligence and challenge. “Have dinner with me.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth gaped, “What?!”

Julian grinned, supremely pleased with himself for obviously shocking her. “Ms. MacKade, I have conducted a very thorough examination and there is nothing wrong with your hearing. Will you have dinner with me? Tonight.”

Sam snapped her mouth shut and stared at him wide eyed. Here was yet another side to Dr. Julian Bashir, the smooth operator. He wasn’t the first attractive man to express interest in her. She usually brushed them off with a clever retort, but this was different. Julian was different. Something in the depth of his gaze pulled at her and she found that she wanted to say yes where she usually said no. She swallowed and replied, “Ask me again sometime.”

“Ah,” Julian dropped his gaze and took a step back, allowing her to hop down from the examination table. 

Sam paused and surprised him by kissing his cheek. “Thanks for the first aid, Dr. Bashir,” she said as she sailed out of the Infirmary.

Julian shook his head; the woman was a walking contradiction. A puzzle that changed every time he thought it had it solved. His genetic enhancements allowed him to pick up on subtle shifts that most people weren’t aware of. Changes in respiration, the dilation of pupils, physical responses that happened when there was an attraction. He had been confident she felt as he did, obviously he was wrong. Again. 

He sighed to himself as he put the tray of instruments in the replicator to be disinfected when a sudden thought struck him. “Computer, display the bio-signs present in the Infirmary in the past ten minutes.”

Studying the readout on the monitor, Julian recognized his own unfaltering life signs holding steady through their conversation. Sam’s bumped along as well, and there it was. A slight rise in temperature and increase of pulse. Julian smiled to himself, science didn’t lie and neither did Samantha MacKade. Ask me again, she had said. Well, she could count on it.


End file.
